‘Our Hearts Are Broken’

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“17 years and 22 days forever……”

@TheObamaDiary

Who’s the Red Tie Guy?

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Student Mikhail Hendricks, 16, embraces first lady Michelle Obama after she answered students’ questions at the University of Cape Town, June 23, 2011

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The speech Mikhail Hendricks attended on Sunday:

Hey, Chat Away!

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And a blast from the past…..

Photos: The Kennedy Center Honors at the White House

The Kennedy Center Honors Reception at the White House, December 2

Read about the 2012 recipients here

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Dave

Nancy!!!

Lenny Kravitz

Morgan Freeman

Buddy Guy

Dave & Dustin

‘Why Obama Now’

‘An animated short about the big choice in 2012’s presidential election by Simpsons / Family Guy animator Lucas Gray’

Also available at WhyObamaNow

Rise and Shine

You can get the poster here

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Today (All times ET):

11:15 The President departs the White House

3:55 Arrives Las Vegas

9:30: Delivers remarks at a campaign event at Desert Pines High School, Las Vegas

(I’ve seen about, ooh, 96 different times for this speech, but it looks like it’s 6:30 local time – will double-check)

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TOD fundraisers:

a4alice * Alycee * BWD * CollegeKay * Cookemom * DonnaDem4Obama

Hgerhard * HZ * Judith Fardig * Mae Who Love Our CIC

Marlz * Meta * Pamela *prettyfoot58 * proudmemberofglobalzero * Rita * Theo67 * The Obama Diary

OFA

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Rolling Stone

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You can see VP Biden’s speech in Fort Myers yesterday at C-Span

… with Debbie Wasserman Schultz

Boca Raton, Florida, Sept 29

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Newsweek

If you live in Manhattan, you know what storage company to use 😉

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Moooooooorning everyone, another busy-ish Sunday, so that was a short Rise and Shine. Will catch up with everything later on, and will drop in and out to say helloooOOOoooooo.

ah hey, he sang again: sweet home chicago!

afternoon all (updated)

Thank you ObamaBuilt2LastNZ!

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First Lady Michelle Obama participates in a tug of war with Jimmy Fallon in the Blue Room of the White House during a “Late Night with Jimmy Fallon” taping for the second anniversary of the “Let’s Move!” initiative, Jan. 25. (Official White House Photo by Chuck Kennedy)

** NBC tonight at 12:35 am ET **

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AP: The number of available jobs in the United States jumped in December to near a three-year high, supporting other data that show a brighter outlook for hiring.

Companies and governments posted 3.38 million jobs in December, the Labor Department said Tuesday. That’s up from the 3.12 million advertised in the previous month and nearly matches the three-year high reached in September. Job openings in the private sector reached the highest point in almost three and a half years.

…. The report on job openings follows Friday’s optimistic employment figures. Those showed employers added 243,000 net jobs in January, and the unemployment rate fell to 8.3 percent.

….. It generally takes one to three months for employers to fill job openings. December’s big jump in postings is likely one reason January’s jobs report was healthy. But it also suggests job growth may continue in the coming months.

More here

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TPM – thanks Loriah

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Steve Benen: For months, Republican presidential candidates have been eager, if not desperate, to accuse President Obama of waging a “war on religion”….

…. Mitt Romney seems to have settled on a policy to match the attack: the Obama administration’s decision to require coverage of contraception as preventive care under the Affordable Care Act is, according to the former governor, an “attack on religious liberty”.

…. As a substantive matter, Romney’s lying. The administration’s policy already exempts churches and other houses of worship and “doesn’t require any individual or employer to violate a religious belief – it simply ensures that their employees with different beliefs have the same access to birth control as all other women.”

…. he’s not only lying; he’s also denouncing Obama for adopting a policy similar to one Romney used to support …. as governor, a previous iteration of Romney required all Massachusetts hospitals, including Catholic hospitals, to provide emergency contraception to rape victims.

More here

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Link

USA Today: Pundits and bishops warn President Obama he could lose the white Catholic vote over requiring a contraception option for insurance plans. But Catholic women say they want birth control covered in employee health plans.

…. The Catholic bishops, backed by conservative evangelicals, say the Obama administration shouldn’t include contraception coverage as part of free preventive care options in employers’ health insurance plans …. here’s where the Catholic women come in. According to the Public Religion Research Institute poll released today:

….58% of all Catholics agree employers should be required to provide their employees with health care plans that cover contraception. That slides down to 52% for Catholic voters, 50% for white Catholics.

… the numbers might bring pause to pundits mulling the “Catholic vote”.

More here

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Steve Benen: For months, Republican super PACs have been raising vast sums from wealthy donors …. the political world, however, hasn’t heard much from Democratic super PACs, which have raised far less money.

That will apparently soon change … Jim Messina argued overnight that the Obama campaign just doesn’t have a choice.

He added that Republican super PACS, in aggregate, are “expected to spend half a billion dollars, above and beyond what the Republican nominee and party are expected to commit to try to defeat the President.” That may sound like hyperbole, but it’s a reasonable estimate. The Koch brothers alone are prepared to spend $100 million later this year to defeat Obama.

…. Democrats had a choice: stick to principle, refuse to play by the new rules, and make defeat far more likely, or level the playing field …. The only surprise here is that anyone would be surprised by the decision.

Full post here

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Thanks Mary

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NYT: The delicate Karl Rove said he was “frankly, offended” …. (by)…. the Chrysler ad that Clint Eastwood narrated, which many people who don’t share Mr. Rove’s political worldview thought was rather uplifting.

…. he suggested the words were dictated by “the President of the United States and his political minions,” who bailed out Detroit with taxpayer dollars. It’s just another example of “Chicago-style politics,” he said, whatever that means.

The White House said it had nothing to do with the ad, but it had a great deal to do with Detroit’s resurgence, and that’s what’s really offensive to Mr. Rove and other Republicans. They’d prefer to drown out the good news coming from the carmakers, such as these recent headlines…

More here

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Flashback … from 2004:

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I’m still catching up with the news – and all the comments! – after being out today, will post again soon-ish 😉

rise and sunday shine

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The Obama Holiday Letter: From my family to yours

On behalf of the entire Obama family, I’d like to wish you and your loved ones a happy and healthy holiday season. For us, the holidays are a chance to eat some good food, sing some holiday songs (occasionally out of tune), affirm our faith, and spend time with the family and friends who make our lives so blessed.

Over the past year, Sasha and Malia have continued to amaze Michelle and me with their steadiness and poise. One highlight was when Michelle and the girls accompanied me on my first official trip to South America as president. One evening, after a day of meetings and cultural programs, we visited the statue of Christ the Redeemer in Rio de Janeiro. As we stared up at this wonder of the modern world, I knew it was a moment the girls wouldn’t soon forget, particularly since it was one of the few times I didn’t have to remind them to turn off their iPods.

…. Michelle is doing well, and has been hitting the road almost as often as I have. In April, she and Dr. Jill Biden launched a partnership called “Joining Forces” to support our nation’s military families. She even appeared on Extreme Makeover: Home Edition to build a brand new house for Barbara Marshall, a 15-year Navy Veteran. And for a second year, her Let’s Move! campaign got children excited about healthy eating and exercise.

When I see Michelle standing with a proud military family, or leading kids in jumping jacks on the White House lawn, it reminds me how lucky I am to have her. People always tell me I “married up,” and I couldn’t agree more.

More here

Thanks Dotster

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In case you missed this video, which I added late to the post below, have a look. I love this fella. If you have a chance, leave a nice message for him under the video at YouTube:

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Morning everyone. Will catch up with you all later, meanwhile: chat away 😉